I grew up in Lake Jackson, yes in Texas, graduating from high school in 1975. I attended Stephen F. Austin University, majoring in business and finance. I met my wife and soul mate there and graduated in 1982. We moved to Alvin, TX where we both started our careers. I worked at a bank that Nolan Ryan eventually bought and Celia worked in pharmaceutical sales. Our son was born in 1984 and the daughter followed 2 years later in 1986. In 1989 we moved to Mansfield because of a new job and to get rid of the mildew growing on us from living on the Gulf Coast. I went to work for a Regional Brokerage firm in Dallas, while my wife went back to school to get her certification. After 4 years at Rauscher Pierce Refsnes, I was offered a position with the First Southwest Company as their cash manager and eventually their Vice President and Treasurer. First Southwest Company is a respected Investment Banking firm, that also happens to be the largest financial advisor, and municipal underwriter in the Southwest. My son is in his junior year at Texas State University in San Marcos and my daughter is a freshman at Sam Houston State University in Huntsville. My wife teaches in the Mansfield School Disctrict. Someone tell me where the time went. I have been President of the Mansfiled Public Library Board for 8 years, and I have stayed active in the community and our children's activities these many years. Call it the mid-life crisis, or whatever, I decided about two and a half years ago that a change was needed because the kids are doing their own thing and don't need dad, and the drive to Dallas, where my office is located, is getting longer each year. Some soul searching has brought me to pursue this change. This class represents my ongoing pursuit, and my sixth on-line class, in moving toward a career in teaching. Granted, I still have children to get through college, but I plan on leaving my current profession and starting a new one in about 4 years. |